Food, Farms and Forests

Two New Muscadines, Probiotics Vs. Formaldehyde, & Freezing Beef: July 2025 Arkansas Ag Research Report

• Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

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Welcome to the Arkansas Food, Farms & Forests Podcast, the podcast bringing you the latest on food, fiber and forestry research from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

 

Welcome again to Food, Farms & Forests! I’m your host, Nick Kordsmeier, and today, we’re sharing the audio version of our newsletter, the July 2025 Arkansas Ag Research Report.

In this edition:

  • The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station has a new administrator focused on supporting and expanding external funding opportunities.
  • The first new muscadine varieties from the Arkansas Fruit Breeding Program are cold- hardy and “mighty fine.”
  • Probiotics show promise of keeping chicks healthier in hatcheries.
  • Turfgrass research clears up the confusion for golf course grounds keepers.
  • Meat and muscle biology scientists show how to store your beef in the freezer.
  • Nanotechnology advancements could mean better health for humans and animals.

First, the Big News

Two new varieties of muscadines set for fall release, expand growing season 

Two new varieties of muscadine not only promise a longer growing season but also recall two Arkansas icons: Altus™, named after the state’s wine capital; and Mighty Fine™, a name that describes its flavor and a favorite phrase of retired fruit breeder John Clark.

Altus™ and Mighty Fine™ are being released this fall by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Margaret Worthington, director of the Fruit Breeding Program for the experiment station, noted that although muscadines are known for being susceptible to damage when exposed to cold temperatures, both new varieties stand out for their ability to withstand colder weather compared to other muscadine varieties.

“We are all excited about our first two muscadine releases,” said Parker Cole, associate director of technology commercialization for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Mighty Fine™ and Altus™ are great varieties and are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our Fruit Breeding Program team to deliver new varieties for producers.” 

 

To learn more about this story or any of the stories in the Arkansas Ag Research Report, please check out the links in our show notes or visit our website at aaes.uada.edu/news.

Top Notch

Kariyat holds Clyde H. Sites Endowed Professorship in International Crop Physiology

Rupesh Kariyat unravels the secrets of plant-insect interactions as an associate professor of crop entomology with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and now does this work with support from the Clyde H. Sites Endowed Professorship in International Crop Physiology. 

Kariyat teaches courses in the entomology and plant pathology department for the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, and has an appointment with the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

“With the additional resources available, as a lab, we hope to better understand plant response to both biotic and abiotic stressors, with the goal of building resilient crops that benefit the state of Arkansas, and beyond, while also developing novel pest management tools that can be employed for sustainable agriculture,” Kariyat said.

Arkansas Research Alliance awards additional funding for essential research

Three researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture were awarded bonus grants from the Arkansas Research Alliance, with supportive funding from industry partners, for projects that develop innovative applications of rice and soybeans.

All three of the researchers are in the food science department: Samira Feyzi, an assistant professor of analytical protein chemistry; Scott Lafontaine, an assistant professor of food chemistry; and Mahfuzur Rahman, an assistant professor and grain processing engineer.

New Faces

New Arkansas Ag Experiment Station administrator eyes continuous improvement on impactful research and development

As a researcher, educator and administrator with a knack for making connections, Cynthia Sides has a vision for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station that is geared to broaden and strengthen its impact in the state.

Sides’ new role as associate director for research development and compliance at the experiment station focuses on supporting and expanding external funding opportunities and maintaining compliance with grant requirements.

“I want to help our researchers thrive in their own innovative endeavors,” Sides said. “Their research is synonymous with impact for Arkansans, and for me, there is no better vision than for the experiment station to be the collaborative leader in research development initiatives that result in increased impact for the state.”

Research Spotlights

Probiotics prove to be powerful chick hatchery disinfectant

Scientists with the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science sought a way to eliminate harmful microbes in poultry hatcheries while preserving the helpful ones.

Danielle Graham, assistant professor of poultry science with Bumpers College and the Division of Agriculture’s Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, led a study showing that some strains of probiotics reduced harmful bacteria just as well as formaldehyde, an industry standard treatment that also destroys beneficial microorganisms. The study was published in the Poultry Science journal.

Look to the data, not the marketing: Turfgrass research shows no differences in ‘penetrant’ and ‘retainer’ wetting agents 

Turfgrass researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station have helped the turfgrass industry clear up confusion over soil surfactants used as wetting agents on golf course putting greens that are marketed by different names.

Mike Richardson, professor of horticulture for the experiment station, said that in the absence of data from the federal registration and labeling process, marketing terminology and anecdotal evidence have been used instead. Their study found inconsistent differences in wetting agents marketed as “penetrants” and “retainers.” 

How do I store beef in the freezer?

Bulk purchasing of beef for at-home frozen storage has its advantages for extended shelf life, but new research offers insight on how to do it and retain the most quality.

Derico Setyabrata, an assistant professor of meat science and muscle biology, recently published a study showing that larger cuts retain color quality better compared to freezing beef as individual steaks. Setyabrata and his fellow researchers also found that typical consumer freezing practices only minimally impacted the final product quality. The study was published in Meat and Muscle Biology, the official journal of the American Meat Science Association.

Refining Nanotechnology to Enhance Absorption of Meds, Probiotics

Controlled-release systems deliver medication and other bioactive compounds to the ideal spot inside a body and over a specific time. New research could improve these systems used for probiotics that boost gut health, drugs that target cancer cells and other medications for human and animal health using nanotechnology. The findings were published in a recent issue of the journal Carbohydrate Polymers. 

Watch

Elvis Elli – Increasing Productivity & Sustainability

Elvis Elli, crop physiologist at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, uses data-driven models to predict how crops respond to extreme weather events. By combining field studies with crop modeling, Elli helps farmers in Arkansas and beyond improve productivity and resilience in a changing environment.

Listen

What’s the best way to store beef in the freezer? A new study has the answer.

In this episode of Food, Farms & Forests, we spoke with Derico Setyabrata, assistant professor of meat science and muscle biology with the animal science department, about a recent study looking at how to optimize long-term storage of beef in the freezer.

After comparing three cuts of meat, in whole sections and cut into steaks, with freeze-thawing cycles in industrial blast freezers and two types of freezers found in most homes, Setyabrata found that the size and cut of beef matters.

Hot Off the Press 

Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Research Studies 2024

The latest edition of the Corn and Grain Sorghum Research Studies publication includes research updates on weed, disease, nematode, and insect management studies, irrigation and

agronomics, soil fertility and more. Download the report to learn about the development of a drone imagery-based stand counting app, find out about a potential option for feral hog control, and check out last year’s research verification program results.

To dig deeper into any of these stories, please check out the links in our show notes or visit our news website at aaes.uada.edu/news.  

Thanks for listening to Food, Farms & Forests. Until next time, I’m your host, Nick Kordsmeier.

The Arkansas Food, Farms & Forests Podcast is produced by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Visit aaes.uada.edu for more information.